On a hot summer day a paddle and hike combination in Tunkwa Lake Park was the plan. An early start helped as I paddled around the lake. After securing the boat, I put on hiking shoes to hike the Leighton Lake trail. Much of the route is through grasslands and open terrain, with a short section through open forest. By this point of summer, the ground was very dry and most of the wildflowers had passed the blooming stages. A few flowers still appeared – late summer asters, yarrow, sow thistle, tansy, pale Agoseris, hawkweed, and fireweed. At the shoreline there was some wetland species – arumleaf arrowhead, smartweed, and water parsnip. Butterflies and other pollinators were busy on the sow thistle, knapweed, and asters.

The hike was a hot one, but I stopped to take a few photos along the way, shared here in a gallery. Click any image the Google Photos album, then click an image for more information.